-to be featured in ‘Alone in the Wild’ series
‘DESTINATION GUYANA’ will receive yet another major international boost as it is being featured in the series ‘Alone in the Wild’. Tigress Productions, a United Kingdom adventure productions company has been commissioned by Discovery Networks to produce two one-hour programmes for the popular television series title “Alone in the Wild”, which is expected to be aired coming September. It will then be distributed by BBC worldwide.
Three celebrities Chris Ryan, former British Special Forces operative and soldier turn novelist; Donal MacIntyre, an Irish investigative journalist; and Joe Pasquale, an English comedian, were each sent to live alone in the forest for six days.   
Speaking at a press briefing on Tuesday at the Pegasus Hotel, Kingston, Georgetown, following the successful filming which begun on May 28, 2011, Director of the Guyana Tourism Authority, Mr. Indranauth Haralsingh said the Honourable Manniram Prashad, Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce is very excited about the developments taking place and the popularity that Guyana is gaining as a ideal film and documentary destination.
He extended gratitude to the team including the three celebrities dubbing them as “true ambassadors of ‘Destination Guyana.”
“Their experiences will be shared with the rest of the world, and in so doing, Guyana will be promoted, it will help to also raise the profile, the image and the branding of Destination Guyana – the Amazon Adventure,” he said.
Like the recently completed BBC series called ‘Serious Explorers Raleigh’, Bushmasters provided on the ground country support and logistics along with individuals from Surama village, which recently copped the Caribbean Sustainable Tourism Award, jointly with Harrison’s Cave, in Barbados.
Ian Craddock, Owner of Bushmasters Tour Operations in Guyana said guides from Surama was used as “jungle bushmasters” and despite the few last minutes changes due to the weather they were able to successfully complete the expedition.
He said a couple of days training were done in the Surama village with some of the local guides and then each participants went off into the jungle for about six days with only a backpack of gears and a pack of farine (a by-product of cassava).
The team also includes Series Director, Mr. Jonny Young, who was also part of the British Broadcasting Corporation ‘Lost Land of the Jaguar’ team.
He said they have had a fantastic time, noting, “It has been a pleasure to come back. It is a very different experience this time”.
“This time it was very much down to the personal experiences of our three celebrities who were armed with cameras and very little else in the way of survival gear to live in the forest for six days, and it was a pleasure to see the Guyanese jungle through their eyes because what they were experiencing was very real to them on a day to day basis,” he stated.
Young said it was extremely rainy and very wet so “they truly experience a rainforest in all of its splendour.”
Touching on their personal experience, participant MacIntyre said “it has been amazing, it has been overwhelming”.
He said they have all been mesmerized by what Guyana has to offer including its wonderful people and its pristine rainforest.
“I am really excited about the developments from a tourist perspective and I am very hopeful for this wonderful country of yours,” he said assuring that they will be delighted to help promote Guyana.
Ryan said having worked in a lot of jungles around the world, he was absolutely astounded by the pristine jungle Guyana has, noting, “It was actually quite an honour to get in there and spend a week living under the canopy – the only thing that shocked me was the amount of rain that was coming down – I have never been to a place that has been so wet in a sustained period of time.”
“We had a great time – I will certainly be going back to the UK and getting people to come out here for these eco-holidays which I think is absolutely superb,” he said.
Comedian Pasquale who won the fourth series of the UK television show ‘I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! said this was different but it was a wonderful experience” being surrounded by nature.
This will add to our tremendous PR exposure expected including the much-anticipated BBC 10-part series retracing the footsteps of Sir Walter Raleigh, in search of the fabled City of Gold, El Dorado, expected to be aired coming October.
Guyana was already featured in the BBC’s three-part series “Lost Land of the Jaguars” and United States reality television series “Reel and Birding Adventures”.  
Apart from being highlighted in various international travel magazines and shows, a major plus for ‘Destination Guyana’ is being featured in popular British film producer and creative director, Russell Malkin new book called ‘101 Amazing Adventures of the World’ with the majestic Kaieteur Falls on its cover. Three adventures in Guyana have been captured in this book.